Chapter 18 their beta bloodline

Chapter 18 their beta bloodline
Lucifer’s P.O.V.

I furrowed my brows, looking between Amber and her whole family standing at the edge of the pack borders.
Their faces were calm, but I felt that subtle shift in the air when they all appeared in front of me together.
A quiet defiance….
Not loud, not chaotic, but final with a weird control over the situation.
The weird thing is that this beta family held this control.
I learned that their bloodline is not as simple as they had stated on the papers, but this isn’t about their bloodline.
This is about what they were going to do next.
Something was wrong.
My gaze narrowed slightly as I watched them.
David stood at the front, his posture calm but unyielding.
Daniel was beside him, tense like a coiled spring, ready to snap at any moment. His emotions were on edge.
Laila stood slightly behind her mate, David. Her one hand unconsciously resting over her stomach, protecting her unborn pup, her eyes sharp and protective.
And Amber…
She was between Daniel and David.
Silent, composed, but beneath that composure, I felt pain, conflict, determination…….. distance.
My jaw clenched tightly. What exactly was going on here?
“Something’s off,” Ethan spoke to me through mind-link, his sharp gaze also fixed on them.
“Tell me something that I didn’t feel.” I scoffed through mind-link.
“I also felt the same, bro. This beta family…….. families don’t walk away from a pack this easily. Only a transfer of one family member, and the whole family is ready to leave the pack without a fight, without hesitation, as if they have been waiting for this day for long.” Lucian spoke through mind-link, his usual playful tone turned into the serious one.
I didn’t respond to him because his assessment was right.
David stepped forward, his voice calm but firm as it cut through the tense air.
“We are here to formally sever our ties with this pack, my king. Please grant us the leave.”
The air around us stilled for a few seconds. Just as I felt…..
No hesitation, no fight in his voice….
Just determination….
A ripple went through the surrounding wolves.
I looked at Adrian but raised my brows in surprise when I saw him avoiding our gazes.
But on top of that, he was scared.
In his aura, there was no anger for the whole family leaving the pack, no dominance fight to stop them, but sheer fear.
I sucked in a breath, shaking my head in disbelief.
The alpha of the pack, a true-blood Alpha, was afraid of his beta family…
Ridiculous…
My gaze shifted back to David.
“You’re certain about this?” I asked in an even tone, but my eyes still searching his face for any sign of hesitation.
“There’s nothing left for us here, my king,” he replied without missing a beat.
The certainty in his voice sharpened my instincts.
This wasn’t a sudden decision.
This had been building for a long time.
And somehow, I had walked into the aftermath without seeing the cause.
I hated this kind of situation because it can lead to a big mistake and I hate making mistakes.
Lucian leaned slightly toward me.
“Either this pack is rotten to the core… or we missed something big.” He spoke in whispers, almost forcing the words in my ear.
“Both,” Ethan added quietly.
I didn’t disagree because ever since I set foot here, I observed.Observed would be an exaggeration because everything was scattered around in the open.
Adrian’s disrespectful behavior towards Amber. Naisha’s nasty attitude towards her, the way pack members spoke ill about Amber, and didn’t give her the respect that she deserved.
I would call myself blind if I couldn’t pick up these scattered pieces to understand that this pack was on the verge of collapse.
And now this—her entire family leaving without resistance.
“If you are comfortable, may I know the right reason for this departure, David?” I asked. No, I requested because I truly wanted to understand if this was the right decision or not.
David chuckled dryly and glanced at Adrian. The disdain and hatred that crossed his experienced eyes made me take a deep breath.
“Some reasons….” He spoke but trailed off before moving his gaze in my direction again.
“Are better to stay buried, my king. Because some truths not only destroy one or two lives but also the whole pack.” He finished his sentence calmly, but the mystery of his statement struck my mind hard.
“Very well,” I finally said, my voice carrying authority. “Your request is granted.”
Relief flickered across Daniel’s face.
Laila exhaled softly.
David simply nodded once.
And Amber…. I felt her emotion through our bond.
She didn’t let her emotions show on her face, but she felt as if a heavy weight from her chest had lifted away.
My gaze lingered on her longer than necessary because she didn’t look at me, not even once.
I gestured for Adrian and Naisha to come forward and finished the formality.
Throughout the procedure, I watched Amber, but she didn’t even glance at me.
Adrian and Naisha were more affected than David and his family when they severed the bond with the pack.
They finished the formalities as quickly as possible.
It felt too quickly as if everyone wanted to move on from something unspoken.
Amber embraced her whole family. The separation was tearful, but Laila comforted her better than her brothers.
Adrian and Naisha stayed silent as if they were just spectators in the whole show.
I stepped back toward the convoy, my mind still processing everything I had just witnessed.
“Care to share what’s going on in that head of yours?” Lucian asked curiously, but keeping that nonchalant façade of his on his face.
“Did you understand the hidden meaning of David’s statement?” I asked him while stopping in front of my car.
Ethan and Lucian stopped on either side of me.
“And that fear on both Adrian and Naisha’s face…… we are missing something very big, Lucifer, and I don’t know why, but the way he spoke to you, it seems that the cause has its roots in the royal pack too,” Ethan whispered in a serious tone, glancing at Amber and his family.
I could feel the same thing.
“You are right. Things are not that simple.” Lucian murmured, and I looked at him in surprise.
“You noticed it too?” I asked him in surprise, and he glared at me.
“Of course, I did. I may look playful and like one not paying attention, but I am not blind.” He scowled darkly while replying to me.
“Do you also think that Adrian and Naisha are the origin of this situation?” Ethan asked me in whispers again.
“Not Naisha, but Adrian can be,” I replied firmly, still studying the scene in front of me.
Adrian was visibly more shaken than Naisha, and the relief that washed over him when he accepted the severance of the bond definitely had something to do with him.
Because men like Adrian didn’t create problems overnight.
They let them fester, grow, and rot everything around them.
I straightened my back when Amber came towards us.